so let's flip back to page 59 so
we can read step 11.
thought through prayer and meditation to
improve our conscious contact with god
as we understood him praying only for
knowledge of his will for us in the
power to carry that out
okay back here on page 85 paragraph two
page 85 paragraph two
as much as already been said about
receiving strength inspiration
and direction from him who has all
knowledge and power
notice the authors don't say that he has
a lot of knowledge and power
it says he has all knowledge and power
now
if i have a resource available to me
that has all
knowledge and power what would be the
best place to go for direction
that source exactly you know what i find
really ironic in these rooms and i have
had this experience so many times
the very thing that has caused me more
difficulty in pain and suffering
has been my own head you know what's
really interesting about that
i get a problem you know the first i go
place i go for a solution
is my head
now is that insane or what
the thing that caused me more suffering
and pain and humiliation when i came
into these rooms
the old ideas beliefs and attitudes and
perceptions
that simply did not work that is the
first place i go for a solution when i
have a problem
so if i'm truly self-delusional
we read that didn't we back in the
second the third step
that we are driven by a hundred forms of
fear self-delusion self-pity and
self-seeking
correct so if i'm truly driven by
self-delusion how am i gonna know if i'm
self-deluded
i'm not gonna know that's like going to
a fish
and asking it what is water
the officials say well you know it's
it's everywhere
[Music]
think about the weight of that statement
if i'm self-delusional how am i going to
know if i'm self-deluded
i'm not going to know that's why it's
absolutely essential that this alcoholic
maintains the strict disciplines
of 10 11 and 12. can i rely on my
interpretation
my perception of my own experience maybe
i need other people
maybe i need access to a god of my
understanding
so that i can seek this knowledge and
power okay then the author is going to
say if we have
it whoa there's that word again if we
have
carefully doesn't say if we follow
directions
if we have carefully follow directions
we have begun to sense the flow of his
spirit into us
what a promise to some extent we have
become
god conscious we have begun to develop
this vital
sixth sense but we must go further and
that means more action
now how many of you have gone to
meetings and you've heard somebody speak
and they pick the topic
i'd like to hear your experience with
your strength sense
it's right there in the book i mean the
authors are telling us
we have begun to develop this vital you
know what vital means
essential for life
so am i going to be able to live and
survive i'm not talking about not
drinking i'm talking about living here
i'm talking about being free
being free from my own mind my own fears
inadequacies self-doubts etc etc etc
this final sixth sense so this sixth
sense is absolutely essential for my
life and sobriety
i'm encouraging all of you that are
experiencing this final success that you
take that
back to your meetings and start talking
about it start
sharing with people your own experience
with your vital sixth sense but we must
go further and that means more
action
my twenty years of sobriety is not going
to keep me spiritually
fit now the truth is
i don't want to do these disciplines
i would love to be able to sit home with
my 20 years of sobriety
and flip the old whatchamacallit from
channel to channel and drink my sprite
and be spiritually fit i would love to
be able to do that
but that's not what my experience shows
me
am i willing to do the discipline yes
why do i do that couple of reasons not
because i'm a truth seeker
there are no truth seekers and
alcoholics anonymous
we're comfort seekers that's why i
maintain the disciplines because
i enjoy the comfort the peace of mind
the serenity
the freedom to reprieve from alcohol
being in a position of neutrality safe
and protected
that's why i do the disciplines on a
regular basis not because i
want to do them it's because i enjoy
feeling comfort
and that's what these disciplines do for
me let's read on
step 11 suggest prayer meditation we
shouldn't be shy on this matter of
prayer
better men than we are using it
constantly
it works if we have the proper attitude
and work at it
you